Roommate killer to be eligible for supervised release again next week

A Calgary man with a checkered past will once again be under supervised release as he finishes out his sentence for killing his roommate six years ago.

Pablo Rodrigo Russell was initially charged with first-degree murder after Serafino Virgilio was shot six times at their Falconridge home in January 2010.

Three-and-a-half years later, Russell agreed to a deal where he would plead guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to eight years behind bars. But with credit for time already served, he had just three years left.

According to documents obtained by News Talk 770, the 39-year-old has had a handful of issues in regards to supervised releases, which were first granted in September.

In May, he was moved from a medium- to maximum-security institution after an incident where he refused to be double-bunked, claiming he would harm any offender he would be placed with. The Parole Board of Canada documents say Russell claims that as a born-again Christian, he would never threaten anyone, and that he simply refused to be double-bunked as he believes he has different beliefs and values than most other inmates.

The board notes Russell doesn’t take any responsibility for his most-recent suspension, and he rationalizes behaviours and provides excuses for not doing things. For example, he told the panel that he’s “perfectly willing to work and be gainfully employed,” yet that was a point of contention as to why his supervised release, granted in September, was revoked in December.

The board met earlier this month to outline some more conditions Russell will have to abide by under his next supervised release, which will begin next week.

The board had some concerns about Russell, saying his behaviour while on previous supervised releases “continues to be inconsistent with someone reintegrating into the community.”